cs240e: Data Structures and Data Management (Enriched), Winter 2022
Testing/Exams

Final exam



Date: Monday, April 11, 2022
Time: 12:30PM - 3:00PM
Location/Seating: The final will take place in the physical acitivity centre (PAC) in area 2. You will be assigned a seat and you must use your assigned seat (the exam will be pre-stamped with your name). Look up your assign seat here. (The seating assignment should be available on Apr 8.)
Reference Sheet (will be provided in exam): Reference Sheet
Coverage: The exam covers everything that was covered in class, with a strong emphasis on post-midterm material (Chapter 8-11). Be aware that we have not been following the course notes exactly. Anything that was not covered in class will not be asked about on the exam. Specifically excluded topics:
  • Optimal binary search trees
  • 2-competetiveness of the MTF-heuristic
  • Analysis of hashing with uniform probing
  • Details of Rabin-Karp run-time (p269-270 in version of 3/16)
  • Details of computing S[] in linear time (p288 bottom, p289 top)
  • Memorizing Morse code or ASCII
  • Making d-way merge-sort optimal (p345 top)
The focus is less on memorizing and more on understanding and applying the concepts you learned in the course. Also, for any question where you do not know the exact formula or details of a pseudocode, you can state your assumptions with your solution, and as long as this does not simplify the question it will not be punished.

You will not be asked to reproduce any proofs done in class. But you should understand the ideas behind them and apply those ideas to simple situations. You do not need to know any specific details about C++; if we ask you to give code then pseudocode will suffice.

Question-types: The final will be similar in layout to the midterm (but longer). The comments on the Blank Midterm about typical kinds of questions apply similarly to the final, except that the coverage now includes all data structures and algorithms that we have seen.
Note that this is intended to give you an idea of the kinds of questions that are being asked; it is not a sample exam. Not all these kinds of questions will be asked, and there may be some questions that do not fit the blank exam.
Final Help Session: To be scheduled (likely on Apr 7-8; watch piazza for an upcoming poll)
Office hours: Therese: Office hours are changed in the week before the finel.
  • No office hours on April 5.
  • Office hours (in-person) on April 8 (Fri), 2-3pm
  • Office hours (in-person) on April 11 (Mon), 9-10am
  • Online office hours available by appointment, however, no office hours can be scheduled on the weekend.
Quan: Offce hours are the same in the week before the final.
  • Tue, Apr 5, 11am-12pm (online)
  • Wed, Apr 6, 10am-12pm (online)
  • Thu, Apr 7, 12-1pm (online)
  • Fri, Apr 8, 1-2pm (online)
  • In-person office hours available by appointment.
Allowed Aids: Only the reference sheet which will be provided in the exam. No calculators allowed.
Bring to exam: Pens, pencils and eraser. Watcard (the actual card with the photo).
You are permitted to bring in a clear water bottle, but remove its label.
What to expect during the exam: We will follow the University Policies, guidlines, and Academic Regulations for Assignemnts, Tests, and Final Exams as well as the Registrar's office instructions for Final examinations
  • Arrive no sooner than 20 minutes before the start of the exam.
  • Masks must be worn at all times.
  • Only the South and West entrances of PAC are open.
  • All students must remain for the first hour. Students who arrive more than an hour late will not be admitted.
  • No food or drink (with the exception of water in a clear bottle with no label). Should you require short nutrition breaks, you must contact us before the exam.
Furthermore:
  • Students will be let into the room 5-10 minutes before the exam starts, depending on when set-up is ready. Do not enter the room until proctors let you in. Before entering, verify on the posted (outside the room) seating list (by ID #) that this is the correct room for your exam. Also note the seat (given as row and column when facing the front of the room).
  • Once let into the room students may not leave the room until the exam is over or unless being escorted to the bathroom (i.e. before entering, go to the washroom).
  • Students may arrive up to an hour late but no extra writing time will be given: everyone ends at the same time.
  • Find your exam (it will have your name and photo on it)
  • Put your photo-ID WatCard, pens, pencils, erasers on the desk.
  • Put your backpack, bags, hats, etc. under the desk , closed, clear from the aisle and out of sight. No electronic aids allowed: All laptops, cell phones, smart watches etc. must be out of reach.
  • Read the instructions on the first page and sign in the box on the front page in pen
  • Listen to instructions from the proctor(s). Do not start until the proctor tells you to.
  • During the exam, a proctor will come around with a signature (attendance) list that you must sign in pen. Proctors will also look at your WatCard to verify you are writing the right exam and check that you have signed the front page of the exam.
  • Raise your hand if you think there is an error on the exam, or if you have need for a washroom break, or if you want to leave early, or if you need to get something out of your bag/backpack after the exam has started.
  • You may not leave during the first hour of the exam or within the last 10 minutes.
  • Stop writing at the end when the proctor tells you to. Failure to stop when told to will lower your mark.
    Remain seated, until the proctors have collected all exams and tell you that you may leave. Once you are allowed to leave at the end, leave the room promptly.
Incompletes: Students who cannot attend or finish the final exam due to illness or other reasons beyond their control must follow the procedure to request an Incomplete (INC). Requests will be not be granted automatically.
Grades and exam viewing: Grades (for the entire course, not just for the final) will begin to appear on Quest on April 27, 2022. Course personnel is not allowed to share grade information with you before this day.
Final exams are primarily diagnostic tools for evaluating how well the course material was learned and understood at the end of term and are not intended as learning tools. As such, solutions are not provided and the marked exam is not released to students.
In pre-Covid days the instructional support group provided Exam viewing sessions at the beginning of the next term; it has not yet been decided whether these will resume in Spring 2022.

Midterm

Date: Thursday Mar 3, 2022
Time: 4:30PM - 6:20PM
Location/Seating: The midterm will take place in MC4059. You will be assigned a seat and you must use your assigned seat (the exam will be pre-stamped with your name). Look up your assign seat here. (The seating assignment should be available on Feb 28.)
Reference Sheet (will be provided in exam): Reference Sheet [added on 2/23]
Allowed Aids: Only the reference sheet which will be provided in the exam. No calculators allowed.
Bring: Pens, pencils and eraser.
A pen is needed for signatures (a signature list that the proctor will bring around and your signature on the front page of the exam).
The exam will be hand-written on paper; you are encouraged to use pencils (bring more than one in case one breaks) so you can erase in case of minor errors. If you choose, you are also allowed to use any kind of pen to write your answer as long as it will be visible on the scan; do not use colours other than blue or black.

You must bring your Watcard (the actual card with the photo; the PDF-version is not enough). If you do not have this yet, bring two pieces of photo-ID.

You are permitted to bring in a clear water bottle, but remove its label. Drinking with a straw is preferred so you don't have to entirely remove your mask. Food is not allowed.
Coverage: The midterm covers everything up to and including Chapter 07 that was covered in class. Be aware that we have not been following the course notes exactly. Anything that was not covered in class will not be asked about on the exam. The proctors have not seen the midterm and cannot answer questions about coverage.

Specifically excluded topics:

  • optimal binary search trees
  • 2-competetiveness of the MTF-heuristic
  • Analysis of hashing with uniform probing
In general, we don't answer questions like "Do we need to know about XYZ for the midterm?" or "Do I have to memorize ABC?". You must use your judgment in deciding what to study. (Also consult the helper sheet; there is no need to memorize anything that is on it.) We will say, however, that the focus is less on memorizing and more on understanding and applying the concepts you learned in the course. Also, for any question where you do not know the exact formula or details of a pseudocode, you can state your assumptions with your solution, and as long as this does not simplify the question it will not be punished.

You will not be asked to reproduce any proofs done in class. But you should understand the ideas behind them and apply those ideas to simple situations. You do not need to know any specific details about C++; if we ask you to give code then pseudocode will suffice.

What to expect at the exam and after: [added on 2/28]
  • Masks are mandatory.
  • Students will be let into the room 5-10 minutes before the exam starts, depending on when set-up is ready. Do not enter the room until proctors let you in. Before entering, verify on the posted (outside the room) seating list (by ID #) that this is the correct room for your exam. Also note the seat (given as row and column when facing the front of the room).
  • Once let into the room students may not leave the room until the exam is over or unless being escorted to the bathroom (i.e. before entering, go to the washroom).
  • Students may arrive up to an hour late but no extra writing time will be given-everyone ends at the same time.
  • Find your exam (it will have your name and photo on it)
  • Put your photo-ID WatCard, pens, pencils, erasers on the desk and put your backpack, bags, hats, etc. under the desk , closed, clear from the aisle and out of sight.
  • Read the instructions on the first page and sign anywhere on the front page in pen
  • Read the blackboard/whiteboard instructions and listen to instructions from the proctor(s)
  • Do not start until the proctor tells you to.
    Stop writing at the end when the proctor tells you to. Failure to stop when told to will lower your mark.
  • You may not leave during the first hour of the exam or within the last 10 minutes. At the end, remain seated, until the proctors have collected all exams and tell you that you may leave.
  • During the exam, a proctor will come around with a signature (attendance) list that you must sign in pen. Proctors will also look at your WatCard to verify you are writing the right exam and check that you have signed the front page of the exam.
  • Write your answers legibly and clearly. If graders cannot read your answer, they cannot mark it. Also do not answer close to a paper's edge or faintly since this may not be picked up by the scanning done to upload your exam to Crowdmark for marking (i.e. graders will not see it).
  • Raise your hand if you think there is an error on the exam or if you have need for a washroom break or if you need to get something out of your bag/backpack after the exam has started.
  • Once you are allowed to leave at the end, leave the room promptly.
  • Marking will take a few days. There will be an announcement and post mortem released when grading is ready and you will get an email from the Crowdmark mailer with the link to your marked exam.
Blank Midterm: Blank Midterm
Note that this is intended to give you an idea of the kinds of questions that are being asked; it is not a sample midterm. Not all these kinds of questions will be asked, and there may be some questions that do not fit the blank midterm.
Midterm Help Session: Tuesday, Mar 1, 2-3:30pm (on teams)
Midterm practice questions
Office hours: There will be no lectures on Thursday Mar 3. The instructor is available to hold office hours by appointment during 8:30-10am on Mar 3 (in-person or online). Email biedl@uwaterloo.ca at least 12 hours in advance to request an appointment.
Postmortem: midterm-post-mortem
Midterm Remark Requests: Deadline Wed. March 23 11:59PM. Re-mark requests will only be accepted using this: form (authentication is required to ensure requester is on the classlist).

Crowdmark Note:

We use Crowdmark for grading our exams and distributing midterm results to students. For this course (and many others), Crowdmark associates an exam with a student by their Quest Username (maximum 8 characters) @uwaterloo.ca email. When Crowdmark sends exam results to this email address it is resolved by your Mail Routing Address in WatIAM.